KERMAN

also spelled Kirman, city, provincial capital, and ostan (province), southeastern Iran. The city lies on a sandy plain, 5,738 ft (1,749 m) above sea level, under barren, rocky hills. Surrounded by mountains on the north and east, it has a cool climate and frequent sandstorms in the autumn and spring. The population is mostly Persian-speaking Muslims, with a Zoroastrian minority. Kerman is the largest carpet-exporting centre of Iran (see Kerman carpet). The city formerly owed its industrial reputation to its shawl making, but this industry was surpassed by carpet making, particularly in Mahani suburb. In the mid-1970s an industrial centre was established that included a cement plant, a textile factory, and a cold-storage plant. There is a thermoelectric plant; water is brought by qarats (underground aqueducts) from the surrounding hills. Kerman is linked by road to Bandar 'Abbas and Meshed. It also has an airport. Kerman city was probably founded by Ardashir I (reigned AD 224241) of the Sasanian dynasty (although Ptolemy mentions the name of a city called Kerman in the 2nd century) and was called Behdesir, Berdesir, or Berdeshir. Under the Safavids it came to be known as Kerman and was made capital of a province in the 10th century. It was sacked by the Uzbeks in 1509 and occupied by Afghans in 1720. Kerman was pillaged by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar when Lotf 'Ali Khan of the Zand dynasty took refuge there. It was rebuilt under Fath 'Ali Shah, the founder of the Qajar dynasty (ruled 17971834). The bazaar is large, and there are some old mosques, including Masjed-e Malek (Mosque of the King; 11th century, now restored), Masjed-e Jom'eh (Friday Mosque), Masjed-e Bazar-e-Shah (Mosque of the Shah's Bazaar; founded under the Seljuqs), and Masjed-e Pa Minar (built in 1390 under the Timurids). At the western end of the bazaar is the Ark (Arg), the former citadel of the Qajar dynasty. Next to it is the Qal'eh, allegedly constructed as a citadel by the Afghans during a short-lived subjugation of Kerman in 1722. On the Kerman plain stands the Jabel-e Sang (Mountain of Stone), a tomb built probably in the 11th or 12th century, and to the west is the Bagh-e Sirif, a luxuriant garden. Kerman ostan has an area of 71,997 sq mi (186,472 sq km) and is bounded by the ostans of Baluchestan va Sistan on the west, Yazd on the north, and Khorasan on the northeast. It includes the southern part of the central Iranian desert, the Dasht-e Lut. The southern Lut is relatively dry and unsaline, while in the east are sand dunes and in the west, wind-carved ridges 180240 ft (5570 m) high, called kalut. Elsewhere are wind-eroded cuestas, locally called shahr lut. Chains of mountains stretch northwestsoutheast across much of the ostan; Kuh-e Laleh Zar (14,350 ft ) and Kuh-e Hazaran (14,500 ft ) are extinct volcanoes. The Khalil Rud is the only river of importance. In the lowest depressions, the dry heat of summer is unsurpassed anywhere in the world, but most of the upland valleys enjoy a pleasant climate. The hills are now almost bare; settlement and cultivation are patchy because of the scarcity of water and occur in scattered oases and in the foothills of low interior mountain chains. The upland regions produce cereals, cotton, sugar beets, oilseeds, fruit, and vegetables. In the warm region below 3,6004,500 ft, rice, corn (maize), henna, and fruits are grown. Kerman exports a large percentage of the world's pistachios. Gum tragacanth is also gathered. Animal products are chiefly wool and kork, a kind of soft wool used in Kerman shawls. The province is rich in minerals such as copper, coal, chromium, lead, zinc, uranium, and aluminum, but difficulty of access has restricted mining on a large scale. Springs of crude oil have been found in the Kerman region. A gas pipeline from Bandar 'Abbas to Kerman and a network for the transmission of electricity have helped the development of industry in the ostan. Besides Kerman, the other towns of note are Baft, Bam, Rafsanjan (Bahramabad), Shahr-e Babak, and Esma'ilabad. Pop. (1991) city, 311,643; ostan, 1,789,992.